I love all things books and reading: books, bookstores, bookshelves, book bins, book covers, book sleeves, bookmarks, bookish culture, bookish fun and more. That’s why I have a special place in my reading heart for books about books. Not only do they indulge my bookish heart, but they place me square into the lives of other bookish people, too.
We are not alone. =)
Many readers enjoy reading books about bookish culture. We connect with kindred spirits, life vicariously through booksellers and get even more insights into the fascinating world of books and publishing. I mean, readers reading books about reading? Sign me up!
If you love reading books about books too, then you’ll love the collection of adult, young adult, middle grade and picture books I’ve curated with Amy-Lynn Zimmer-Soto, a former librarian who devours books about books just as much as I do.
As always, there’s a mixture of adult fiction, non-fiction and children’s literature to learn from. Here they are with a blend of my own reviews and the descriptions from Goodreads.
Just click on the image or title to see the book on my Amazon link or browse my collection on Bookshop instead.
Grab your favorite beverage, get comfy and settle in for some delightful books about books!
Adult Literature:
Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson
I picked this up because I love reading books about books, bookstores, book culture and anything bookish, really. So I wasn’t surprised when I felt an instant kinship with Nora, an underpaid and overworked editorial assistant barely hanging on to her life. As hoped, I gained an inside perspective into the world of publishing, but came away with so much more. As Nora grapples with her position and the choices she’s made to stay afloat, she shows readers even more: insights into the sneaky arrival of depression, the difficult quest for happiness and making bold choices to find yourself. I absolutely loved this book.
84, Charring Cross Road by Helene Hanff
The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
I truly believe The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan was written just for me. Really. I’ve shared wild bookish dreams with family and friends: think of book match-making services, a bookery (a bookstore with a cupcakery!) and more. So this book about an out-of-work librarian who risks it all to sell perfectly matched books to customers out of an oversized van was perfect for me. My only complaint? I WANTED MORE. I turned the last page and was met with instant confusion. Wait. What?! It’s over? No! I need to know what happens next! But I guess I’ll just have to continue the story in my own life with my own bookish dreams. Hang tight. =)
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
LOh, what a powerful book book. I really had to take my time with it. There were characters to meet, unexpected surprises to process, plot twists to deal with and a whole lot of ‘what just happened here?’ that I needed to grapple with. In fact, as soon as I finished the last page, I went right back to the beginning and started again. I read it again, but this time, with a pen in hand to track it all so I could make better sense of the lessons I knew I needed to learn. This book is powerful, thought-provoking AND fun, a timely book we all need to read.
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams took every emotional reserve I had. It was exquisite. The book follows multiple characters as they sort through their grief, pain and loneliness independently, yet are ultimately connected together through an unexpected list of books. A list that simply says ‘Just in case you need it’ with a carefully curated selection of eight books. These books were just what each character needed on their particular journey to heal, to grow or to broaden their ideas of the world. As someone who truly believes in the power of books and bibliotherapy, I was captivated by these stories. If you love books and believe in the power of reading or if you still need to learn how to love books and the power of reading, The Reading List is for you. I’ll be returning to this book often and am already working on a reading list of my own to leave for those who might need it. This book has touched my heart in so many ways.
I’d Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel
True to its title, this book was simply delightful. I felt like I was talking with a long-lost friend, a fellow book-lover whose life was just as entangled with the plots, settings and characters of fictional books as they were those in real life. Anne brought such a dedicated, yet refreshing, view to the reading experience and reminded me just how important books are not just to my reading identity, but to the way I live my life. Anne gave me renewed enthusiasm for making books an integral thread of my days, literally changing the course of my life one page at a time . A must read for any devoted reader.
Young Adult Literature:
The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey
From the moment she first learned to read, literary genius Darcy Wells has spent most of her time living in the worlds of her books. There, she can avoid the crushing reality of her mother’s hoarding and pretend her life is simply ordinary. But when a new property manager becomes more active in the upkeep of their apartment complex, the only home Darcy has ever known outside of her books suddenly hangs in the balance.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan…. But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still. By her brother’s graveside, Liesel’s life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger’s Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel’s foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel’s world is both opened up, and closed down.
Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira
In a perfect world, sixteen-year-old Phoebe Martins’ life would be a book. Preferably a YA novel with magic and a hot paranormal love interest. Unfortunately, her life probably wouldn’t even qualify for a quiet contemporary.
But when Phoebe finds out that Dev, the hottest guy in the clarinet section, might actually have a crush on her, she turns to her favorite books for advice. Phoebe overhauls her personality to become as awesome as her favorite heroines and win Dev’s heart. But if her plan fails, can she go back to her happy world of fictional boys after falling for the real thing?
Middle Grade Literature:
Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James
Eleven year-old Tilly has lived above her grandparents’ bookshop ever since her mother disappeared shortly after she was born. Like the rest of her family, Tilly loves nothing more than to escape into the pages of her favourite stories.
One day Tilly realises that classic children’s characters are appearing in the shop through the magic of `book wandering’ – crossing over from the page into real life.
With the help of Anne of Green Gables and Alice in Wonderland. Tilly is determined to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago, so she bravely steps into the unknown, unsure of what adventure lies ahead and what dangers she may face.
A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan
Jamie Bunn made a mistake at the end of the school year. A big one. And every kid in her middle school knows all about it. Now she has to spend her summer vacation volunteering at the local library—as punishment.
But, not only does her job bring her face-to-face with both her mortal enemy and her ultimate crush, Jamie also encounters a territorial patron, an elderly movie fanatic, a super-tall painter who loves to bake, and a homeless dog. Over the course of the summer, as Jamie gets to know the library and the people in it, she finds—and gives—help where she least expects it.
A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus
It is 1940 and Anna, Edmund, and William have just lost their grandmother. Unfortunately, she left no provision for their guardianship in her will. Her solicitor comes up with a preposterous plan: he will arrange for the children to join a group of schoolchildren who are being evacuated to a village in the country, where they will live with families for the duration of the war.
Moving from one family to another, the children suffer the cruel trickery of foster brothers, the cold realities of outdoor toilets, and the hollowness of empty tummies. They seek comfort in the village lending library, whose kind librarian, Nora Muller, seems an excellent candidate–except that she has a German husband whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Nevertheless, Nora’s cottage is a place of bedtime stories and fireplaces, of vegetable gardens and hot, milky tea. Most important, it’s a place where someone thinks they all three hung the moon. Which is really all you need in a mom, if you think about it.
Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome
When 11-year-old Langston’s mother dies in 1946, he and his father leave rural Alabama for Chicago’s brown belt as a part of what came to be known as the Great Migration. It’s lonely in the small apartment with just the two of them, and at school Langston is bullied. But his new home has one fantastic thing. Unlike the whites-only library in Alabama, the local public library welcomes everyone. There, hiding out after school, Langston discovers another Langston, a poet whom he learns inspired his mother enough to name her only son after him.
Book Uncle and Me by Uma Krishnaswami
This was a delightful book with much to explore: the power of reading in our everyday lives, the impact that free little libraries can have on a community, the importance of community and using your vote to matter and the connections between family and friends. I felt an instant kinship to Yasmin and the role that books played in the very fabric of her life and know many readers will feel the same, young and old.
Picture Books for All Ages:
The Library by Sarah Stewart
Elizabeth Brown doesn’t like to play with dolls and she doesn’t like to skate. What she does like to do is read books. And now that she’s grown up, her collection has gotten so big all the shelves are collapsing. Her front door has disappeared entirely. What in the world will she do? The reclusive Elizabeth Brown surprises everyone wit her splendid solution.
Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
In 1994, Yuyi Morales left her home in Xalapa, Mexico and came to the US with her infant son. She left behind nearly everything she owned, but she didn’t come empty-handed.
She brought her strength, her work, her passion, her hopes and dreams…and her stories.
How to Read a Book by Kwame Alexander
Find a tree—a
black tupelo or
dawn redwood will do—and
plant yourself.
(It’s okay if you prefer a stoop, like Langston Hughes.)
With these words, an adventure begins. Kwame Alexander’s poetry and Melissa Sweet’s artwork come together to take readers on a journey between the pages of a book.
The Snatchabook by Helen Docherty & Thomas Docherty
It’s bedtime in the woods of Burrow Down, and all the animals are ready for their bedtime story. But books are mysteriously disappearing. Eliza Brown decides to stay awake and catch the book thief. It turns out to be a little creature called the Snatchabook who has no one to read him a bedtime story. All turns out well when the books are returned and the animals take turns reading bedtime stories to the Snatchabook.
A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers
A little girl sails her raft across a sea of words, arriving at the house of a small boy. She invites him to go away with her on an adventure into the world of stories… where, with only a little imagination, anything at all can happen.
There you have it! A bibliotherapy book list full of titles sure to indulge your love of books and all things bookish. Tell me: What are your favorite books about books?
Share them in the comments below!
The Sentence By: Louise Erdrich
Reading it now:)
That’s right! I forgot you mentioned it in our Get Lit(erate) Circles & Stacks session!